The rate of flight cancellations in May (0.6%) was significantly lower than in May 2022 (2%), according to the Department of Transportation’s Air Travel Consumer Report (ATCR). For the first five months of 2023, cancellations have stayed below 2% and are lower than the 2.7% cancellation rate both last year and in pre-pandemic 2019.

In May, reporting marketing carriers (the airlines that booked the flight under their codes) posted an on-time arrival rate of 81.2%, up from both 75.7% in April 2023 and 77.2% in May 2022. The year-to-date on-time arrival rate for 2023 is 77.6%.

Delta Air Lines Network had the best on-time arrival rate (88.8%), followed by Alaska Airlines Network (83.9%) and American Airlines Network (82.8%). The worst rates were Hawaiian Airlines (61.3%), Frontier Airlines (66.7%) and Spirit Airlines (73.8%).

In May 2023, airlines reported three tarmac delays of more than three hours on domestic flights, compared with 18 in April 2023. In May 2023, airlines reported two tarmac delays of more than four hours on international flights, compared with three in April 2023.

In May 2023, reporting marketing carriers handled 42.1 million bags and posted a mishandled baggage rate of 0.51%, lower than both the rate of 0.55% in April 2023 and the rate of 0.56% in May 2022.

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